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Off shore Mill at auction in Yorkton, SK

Looks like your typical, probably Taiwanese, Bridgeport rendition. Once upon a time Busy Bee was a prime importer of Taiwan lathes, mills & other machines. It was probably a decent machine in its day. Hard to know much more without being up close & ideally a bit of history. I've heard of some school machines that range from barely used to mostly abused.
 
At that price it is a steal. Even with worn ways. It appears to be a low-hours machine [REVISED] about 30 years old. and it does look Taiwanese (most import machines 25+ years ago were Taiwanese, and could be considered as having 'better bones' than current offshore machines)

In that day, they were quality machines, competing with 'First' and others.

It would have to have serious mechanical problems to make this machine a bad buy. If i wanted another mill, I wouldn't hesitate, even at that distance.
 
And....SOLD for 3925.00
The way things seem to go lately I give it about a week before some clown lists it on Facebook marketplace for double that. I hope not. A few months ago someone listed a lathe for sale for at least 3 times what it sold for at a local auction and had the nerve to use the picture from the auction listing.
 
...just under 4K$ is fair market if it works well. I got a screaming deal on a mill last year, but if I sold it I'd sell it for a lot more. Some guys try to make a business of this, but it takes a lot of experience and knowledge to be a reseller of decent machinery....
 
It's every tool guy's dream to sell your tools for at least what you paid but lately I see so much buying and selling with no added value. I know a guy whose son's sole source of income is buying and selling stuff on Facebook. Buy it, mark it up , post it for sale. Lather, rinse and repeat.
If you're going to resell things that are hard to find, or arrange shipping and import duties, or refurbish and repair, or even save from the scrap heap, I'm all for that.
But these guys who just buy it and then almost immediately list it again, having added no value in any form annoy me.
Maybe it's just me. Some days everything annoys me:)
 
I not a fan of the auction buys and then kijiji without even having the machine available. Couple times lathes have come up and I wanted to buy or asked for more info - “ lathe is not here yet or its at my warehouse” - argh!
 
The guy with the lathe I mentioned had bought it at Panko's machine shop close out auction in Moose Jaw. At that point you could go to the auction site and see what it sold for and who bought it. I think it sold for around 1600 bucks and this goober promptly listed it on facebook for over 5000, then 5000, then 4000. The last listing I saw was for around 2500 bucks, which, honestly wouldn't have been bad. I know it costs money to transport and you have to pay the buyer's premium and all that but using the same picture from the auction listing was just rude. And stupid.
 
Sold for 3925.00 plus 10% buyers fee max 200 plus 5% GST. So around $400 more. I feel it sold a bit high - it has no power feeds, small table and no var-head. 3900 would be fair price but fees move it over that fair price. Few months ago I sold newer bigger mill with two power features and var-head for 4k.

It is difficult to resell used machinery as you are frequently are too greedy - or at least I am - you can make say 30% bonus but more then that seems to be rare. So say you are looking at easily flippable item such as a saw. Its $500. You know if it is in good condition, some cleaning and ads will get it to sell for say $800 (you list for $1000, then $900 and give $100 discount). But you need to work hard to load/ unload it, test it, advertise it, it takes space and finally what if something is broken. Its by far not easy $300. Smaller tools may be a better deal but you need tools that you can move - if you have nice dividing head like me for sale to get its value will take months. On the other hand selling cheap Chinese vises take like days. Heck I listed box of carpenter pencils for I think like $10 or something - people almost killed themselves to get it - who new pencils are so hot - so tons of experience needed to set price correctly and to have items that actually sell.

Yes few times I got lucky and got a lot for $1.5 and sold half of it for $25. But that is more exception then a rule. Realistically mostly coffee budget.
 
The pulley head versions are far more reliable and solid: less friction in the drive system as well.

Hey I don't mind guys that find stuff and resell if they add value, etc.
 
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